***
“I don’t take kindly to anyone barging into my office, Dr. McCutcheon, no matter who they think they are.” The shocked look on Mr. Shellston’s face was worth the regret John would feel later over his temper-fueled actions. “I’m a busy man and can’t abide being sidetracked every other minute of the day.”
“What I have to say will only take a minute. I’m sure we can come to an understanding. Rio Wells isn’t so big that you don’t have a moment for me. Or Miss Anthony, for that matter.”
Mr. Shellston’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, you’ve come about her. There isn’t anything more I have to say on the subject. If her aunt was careless enough not to check references before wiring such a large amount of money across the country, then she deserves what she gets.”
“She’s an eighty-five-year-old woman, for God’s sake. Have some compassion. This bank can easily make their bad situation better if you choose to.”
Both men stood glaring at each other with the massive desk between them. The tick of the lobby clock and their breathing was all that was heard in the small office.
Mr. Shellston features softened. “If I’d have received those funds from Mr. Bartlett, then of course, I’d be apt to rethink my decision. But, am I just supposed to give them use of a building for a whole year free?”
“With the many places I see vacant that they could use, and I know must be owned by this bank, yes. Your bank could easily afford it.”
“Even if I saw fit to agree, the board of trustees would never concur. Besides, as a result every person would come in here looking for charity. This bank does not give away free handouts. My answer remains as it did yesterday, Dr. McCutcheon.”
John left the bank as frustrated as when he had entered. He strode down the walk on his way back to his office, his mind racing over every possibility he could think of. He could lease a building for them himself, and he would if it came down to it, although he knew Lily and her aunt wouldn’t like feeling beholden to him.
He could ask his uncle to talk to the mayor and city council. Surely Uncle Winston had some pull in this town. His ranch was the largest spread around these parts and was one of the major reasons this town was prospering. If either of those ideas didn’t pan out, he might be able to help Lily find a job. That would be a shame, though, given her skills as a seamstress. John lightly fingered the stitches on his face. They pulled when he drew his mouth up into a fake smile to feel the tautness of his wound. The tiny, well placed knots were a testament to her fine needlework. He wasn’t going to just roll over and give up.
He rounded the corner and stopped, facing the doctor’s office. As he waited for a wagon to pass he stared at the dilapidated place, then his gaze moved across the small alley on the left side of the building to the structure next door. Was it a storeroom? Striding behind the wagon, he hurried the rest of the way and tried the doorknob, finding it locked.
Bixby and Tucker were back from taking Martha and Candy Brown home, and startled when he let the door slam behind him.
“They get settled okay?” John asked abruptly.
The old doctor eyed him for a long minute. “They did. I’m happy, too, with that little gal’s progress.”
John only grunted. He hitched his head to the side. “What’s the building next door?”
“Storage room. Can’t even get into it any more. Has thirty five years of stuff packed inside.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Some of it payment for services, some just things I couldn’t live without. Now it’s a millstone around my neck.”
“It’s part of the doctor’s office building, then? What if I wanted to use it for something?”
“I reckon you could. But, like I said, it’s near on full.”
“What kind of stuff? You want any of it.”
“You name it. Glassware, cloth, gadgets and gizmos. Horseshoes, saddles, tools, furniture, whatnots.” He laughed. “See what you have to look forward to? Guess I don’t want any of it since I’ve not even gone in there for years. And I don’t need it for anything. You really want to clean it out?”
“Depends. Does the bank hold any title?”
Bixby whistled and shook his head. “I’m not indebted to that snake. I like that man about as much as a cat likes to swim. Since he’s come to town a handful of years ago, more people than not have up and lost their properties. Don’t trust him a bit.”
“Well, we agree on something, then. What about living quarters? Any upstairs?”
“Of sorts. But very small.”
“I have friends in need of a place to start business in. Problem is, they don’t have much money now. In return for them cleaning up the place and fixing it up a bit, maybe you’d offer to let them sell the contents—since you say you have no need of them—and split the profit with you? What do you think?”
Bixby stared at him for a long moment. “I’d be relieved. And grateful.”
The building might just be a solution for Lily and Harriett’s problem. He could feel his anger abating, at which point he noticed the gnawing hunger in his stomach. He needed food before he did another thing.
“I’m starved and don’t have the volition or the time to fix anything myself. Where can you direct me to get a good, fast noontime plentiful plate of food?”
“The saloon does a first-rate steak or stew. Or, the Cheddar Box down the street across from the livery usually has some palatable specials. There’s also the Union Hotel, but I’m not taking responsibility if you go there. It’s on the road out to the McCutcheon ranch. You most likely passed it on your way to town.”
“You’re a wealth of knowledge, Bixby, thanks. Anyone interested in joining me?”
“Martha fixed us breakfast this morning,” Bixby said. Tucker just shook his head.
“Okay then, I’m off to the Cheddar Box, just in case anyone’s asking.”
On the way John ducked into the mercantile to introduce himself to the Grady’s. Nel and Betty were friendly enough and had a nice selection of goods. John was impressed. As he gazed at the knickknacks behind the cash register a porcelain figurine caught his eye. No mistaking the German dress and kerchief. The petite maid was holding a milk bucket and there was a small periwinkle flower at her feet. It was the exact color of Lily’s eyes. A slow smile formed. Did he dare? Why on earth would he buy her a gift?
“May I see that?” He pointed to the figurine and Mrs. Grady quickly brought it to him.
“This is a beautiful piece we just got in last month. It’s imported from Germany and is hand painted.” She carefully put it into John’s hands.
Instantly he knew, for whatever reason, he had to buy it. Perhaps her birthday was coming up? Or, maybe a gift when she and her aunt had gotten their shop up and running. They were friends. Had been through so much together already. It didn’t mean anything more than that.
Holding her skirt off the ground Lily ran toward John’s office. She opened the door and hurried inside. “John,” she called while trying to catch her breath. “John, are you here?”
An old man met her in the waiting room. “Is Dr. McCutcheon here?”
“You just missed him.” Lily could see his mind twirling like a windmill. One of his bushy gray brows lifted when he said, “You can find him at the Cheddar Box having his midday meal.” He pointed past her and out the window. “Across from the livery.”
When she finally reached the restaurant, she rushed inside. She spotted John and one other table of customers. John hadn’t seen her enter. A waitress had just set a plate filled with food before him and he was cutting into it with relish. His eyes were on his plate as he lifted a forkful of meat to his mouth.
He looked up, surprised. “Lily. Hello.” He set down his fork and knife. His smile faded as she struggled to catch her breath. “Would you care to join—”
“It’s Tante. I can’t wake her up.”
He stood abruptly, his napkin falling from his lap to the wooden floor. “She at the hotel?” Lily nodded. He took two coins from hi
s pocket and placed them on the tablecloth, then rushed out the door.
Chapter Sixteen
John set Harriett’s black box into his doctor’s bag. “My guess is morphine, a powerful pain-reliever. Maybe Harriett had some sort of accident when she was young and is still addicted to what she was given for the pain. Many of the soldiers after the war have become dependent.”
Lily only nodded.
“Do you have any idea where she’s getting it?”
“No.” Her voice was low, like a child’s, and her teeth chewed on her lower lip.
“No, I guess you wouldn’t.” John folded his stethoscope and put it away.
“Does she ever complain of having pain?”
“Yes, sometimes she complains about her back. I just thought she meant pain in general. Maybe she fell off a horse or something?”
Lily’s brows were drawn down in a worried line over her eyes. She glanced at her aunt’s travel bag. “What am I supposed to tell her when she wakes up and sees her box is missing?”
“The truth. That I have whatever this is locked up in my office for safekeeping. Then send for me. You don’t have to deal with this alone.”
Lily turned and walked to the window. He followed but stopped short, giving her the space she seemed to need.
“Have I upset you?”
She shook her head, making the mass of golden hair ripple and reminding him of aspen leaves in the fall. “No, you’ve done nothing wrong. I am just worried about my Tante. She is old. I think she might die.”
John took her shoulders and gently turned her toward him. “At her age, you know that that is always a possibility. Right?”
“Of course.” She regarded him intently. “I just wish I had known about the drugs before. Maybe there was something I could have done to help her.”
John tugged her into his arms and held her close. Her body was compliant, and she didn’t pull away. On the contrary, her hands came up and circled his neck.
“Or perhaps I could have worked harder to talk her out of this idea of coming to Texas,” she murmured close to his neck, as if it were the most natural thing on earth for them to be embracing. “It seemed so farfetched at the time and even more so now.”
When he felt her fingers playing with the back of his hair, John bent his head and found Lily’s forehead, kissing it softly. “Why did she arrange the trip in the first place?”
“She said she needed a dryer climate for her health. However, she has never been sickly in that way. She has never had a cough or suffered from the influenza. If may be so bold to say, I think that she was making that up.”
John knew it must be terribly hard for Lily to imply that her aunt had lied. He wished there was something he could do to make her feel better. He’d help in any way he could, especially be a supportive shoulder for her to lean on. “I may have solved one of your problems.”
She lifted her head to gaze into his eyes. “What do you mean? Did you change the banker’s mind?”
She slid from embrace and instantly his arms felt empty. “Uh, not quite. I did talk to him, but we didn’t quite see eye to eye.”
She nodded, knowing what he was implying.
“But I have found a building for you and your aunt to set up in. You can use it free of charge.” When her face clouded over he added quickly, “That is, until you’re on your feet financially, so to speak, and then you can start paying rent.”
A spark came back into her eyes as she searched his face. “Where?”
“Let me just say first that it’s small and needs considerable work. But there’s a living space upstairs too.”
Lily clapped her hands once and went up on her toes in excitement. “Where is it?”
“Remember my office? The run down, ramshackle of a place? Well, it’s right next door. Actually, it’s part of the medical buildings. Dr. Bixby is using it as a storage room.”
Lily glanced across the room at her aunt. “So you are the landlord, then?”
“I will be when Dr. Bixby retires. But for now, it’s his. He said he hasn’t even been in the building for five years though, so don’t worry about putting him out. I think he was even anxious to get the responsibility of it off his mind.”
She smiled, and held his gaze for several long moments. “It sounds like an answer to my prayers. If it is available I will work hard to clean it up.”
“Well, don’t make any decisions now. Wait until you come over and go through it. It might be more work than it’s worth.” He went over and picked up his black bag and moved toward the door. “I’ll be back in a little while to check on Harriett. Just keep your eye on her.” She nodded as he let himself out and closed the door.
***
Charity climbed into the stage in Y Knot and straightened her plain brown skirt around her legs. She smiled at the woman she was seated next to, and the young son sitting on her lap. Luke reached in and handed Charity her small satchel, which she took and placed beneath her seat. Mark waited on the boardwalk, having already given her a brotherly hug.
Luke winked as he patted her knee. “Ma’s going to be real happy to know you’ve finally decided to go. Like you said, three months will fly by. Besides, you may even enjoy yourself.” He smiled as if trying to convince himself of his own words. “Consider it an adventure,” he added.
“Ten minutes,” the stage line employee shouted from the office doorway. His worn-out Levis were stuffed into tall black army boots and a green vest hugged his body. He snapped his pocket watch closed and disappeared into the dark interior. The driver moved around, getting comfortable. Luke backed away for a moment to let another passenger into the coach. The young man sat opposite Charity and the other woman and child. Luke gave him a no-tom-foolery look. “You behave yourself, Theodore Browning. Understand?” He was a couple of years older than Charity and the son of the only attorney in Y Knot, the man who did the legal work for the ranch.
“Yes, sir,” he answered, clearly intimidated by Luke’s hard look.
“Out of the way, McCutcheon,” a voice said from the boardwalk.
“Brandon,” Charity said in surprise. She tamped down her pleasure at seeing him as she took in the sight of his strong, handsome face and earnest eyes.
“Thought you’d get away without saying goodbye?” He leaned into the door. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going? I had to hear it from your brother this morning. I can’t believe you’re doing this. You always said you’d never even consider going to that silly school. I’m confounded. You already know all the manners you’ll ever need.”
“That’s a lot to say in one breath, Sheriff,” she teased with forced humor. “I guess I changed my mind.” Brandon looked so serious she had to glance away. It was impossible to hide anything from him. He seemed to know everything she was thinking, what was in her heart, and all her dreams. It had been like that since she was just a girl and he was a gangly youth. She’d miss him for sure, more than she’d let herself admit.
“Five minutes!”
People were milling around and Charity felt the coach move an inch or so as the horses danced in anticipation. Lacey’s School for Proper Ladies was located in the northern regions of Denver. The road there was safe and well traveled, but tiresome and boring. She’d covered the same route with her family many times in years past. Why then did this feel so permanent? She hadn’t thought at the time she was dreaming up her idea that leaving would be so hard.
Brandon looked over his shoulder briefly, then back at Charity. “Since you’re set on going, I’ll wish you God speed. Take care of…” He stopped as the station man came up to close the door. Brandon stepped back and joined Luke and Mark on the boardwalk. His expression was bleak, and…she wasn’t sure…maybe a little angry? She hated to leave under these circumstances.
Charity leaned out the window and waved a gloved hand. “Good bye,” she called, flashing the brightest smile she could muster. The other passengers leaned out their windows too. Luke and Mark both smiled and wa
ved, oblivious to her true intentions. But Brandon just stared. She’d bet he knew something was up, he just didn’t know what it was. The coach lurched once when the driver called out to the four-horse team, then rolled away.
Chapter Seventeen
A week had come and gone since the decision to make the dilapidated storage room into a real shop. Lily carried a brass spittoon through the main room, out the door and onto the boardwalk. Looking around carefully to avoid tripping, she searched until she found a spot between several other items and carefully set it down.
Tucker came through the door behind her with two axes and dropped them next to a bucket. “Whew, can you believe all this stuff?”
Lily stretched her back muscles and wiped her arm across her moist brow. “No. I can’t. I’ve never seen such a mismatch of things in one place in all my life. It’s amazing. But, I can see just how cute this building is going to be once it’s cleared, cleaned and painted. With the big window, and all the ideas John is suggesting, I think it will be charmant.”
Tucker gave Lily a funny look and she laughed. “Charming.”
Just then John exited the doctor’s office next door with his arms full to overflowing. He headed for a wagon sitting directly in front in the street and dumped the papers in the bed. Taking a handkerchief from his pocket, he swabbed his face, being careful of his stitches.
“Never said this was going to be easy,” he called to Lily and Tucker. Tucker was doing Dr. Bixby’s share of the work and John was helping Lily with her share. The idea was to get both parcels of real estate fixed up at the same time. It was a lot of work.
Cradle Hupton stepped out of Grady’s Mercantile, letting the door slam behind him, and headed toward John. The livery owner smiled at Lily and waved her over.
He hitched his head, gesturing to the building he’d just left. “You know you got the Grady’s bent clean out of joint, don’t you, with this sale you’re having tomorrow? They are about fit to be tied with the good deals you’re offering.” He shook his head as he looked at all their stuff and then back at Lily. “I don’t know if that’s the way to make friends or enemies.”
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